This invention relates to conveyors for handling articles, packages and bulk material and more particularly to a novel endless drive belt to which slats, aprons, or pans may be connected to form a conveying surface.
Endless rubber V-belts are commonly used for transmitting power between two shafts having pulleys or sheaves with V-grooves. These V-belts are relatively narrow in width so as to be flexible and are generally restricted to rather short distances between shafts since they are generally molded endless. Due to their restricted width and centers conventional V-belts are thus not suitable for use as conveyors carrying an article for any significant distance. U.S. Pat. No. 2,023,421 dated Dec. 10, 1935, and issued to D. HEYER is typical of the above V-belts. U.S. Pat. No. 2,430,500 dated Nov. 11, 1947, and issued to A. L. FREEDLANDER et al. is typical of a wire reinforced double cog V-belt. U.S. Pat. No. 2,881,904 to R. HOERTH dated Apr. 14, 1959, shows a rubber drive belt having a chain as a tensile member.
The use of axially spaced friction blocks of V-cross-section mounted on wire rope or cable to form an endless drive belt for transmitting power is also old. U.S. Pat. No. 242,905 to W. D. EWART dated June 14, 1881, shows metal blocks clamped to ropes at spaced intervals and U.S. Pat. No. 1,655,920 to R. RODERWALD dated Jan. 10, 1928, shows a fabric reinforced belt to which trapezoidal shaped rubber blocks are vulcanized at spaced intervals.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,566,262 to E. R. TRAXLER dated Aug. 28, 1951, discloses the use of crimped connectors for joining the ends of individual wire cables in splicing wide conveyor belts having steel cable reinforcement.
The attachment of a conveying or elevating element to an endless belt or chain has taken away many forms and typical of some of these in the patented art are: U.S. Pat. No. 331,703 to P. GRATER et al. dated Dec. 1, 1885; U.S. Pat. No. 711,993 to V. W. MASON Jr. dated Oct. 28, 1902; U.S. Pat. No. 729,296 to C. EDGERTON dated May 26, 1903; U.S. Pat. No. 967,424 to P. L. O'TOOLE dated Aug. 16, 1910; U.S. Pat. No. 1,422,151 to H. B. WALKER dated July 11, 1922; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,231,070 to H. MULLER dated Jan. 25, 1966.